A typical marine vessel has one or more internal combustion engines that drive a propulsor, such as for example a propeller, impeller, pod drive, and/or the like. The one or more internal combustion engines provide thrust necessary to propel the vessel. Some marine vessels also include one or more electric motors, which are typically battery-powered motors utilized for trolling.
Abandoned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/505,075, hereby expressly incorporated herein by reference, discloses marine propulsion systems that connect both an internal combustion engine and an electric motor to a propulsor in torque-transmitting relation so that the propulsor can selectively receive torque provided by the engine, torque provided by the electric motor, and a sum of torque provided by the engine and the electric motor.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/849,549, filed Aug. 3, 2010, hereby expressly incorporated herein by reference, discloses systems and methods for controlling battery performance in hybrid marine propulsion systems.